May 31, 1980: Phyllis Hyman, GQ, Slave, Baby’O, Ben E. King

Jazz-funk finally came of age at Knebworth on Bank Holiday Monday when over 12,000 funk fans crowded in or around a vast circus big top to make the biggest ever audience to date for this type of music. The event was Showstopper Promotions’ National Soul Day, where a Chris Hill-led line-up of DJs linked the live performances of Eddy Grant & The Frontline Symphony, Lonnie Liston Smith & His Cosmic Echoes, Light Of The World and GQ. All the acts were well received, but it was the bill-topping GQ who hcaused most excitement with a superbly slick show which however related to the chanting call-and-answer atmosphere that had been building to a climax all day. Early in their set, with the night drawing on, there was a breathtaking burst of lazer which filled the huge tent as the lights were dimmed. The skilfully organised event was marred towards the end by a gang of black youths evidently hell bent on preserving their stereotype as troublemakers, but otherwise everything went extremely well – meaning that at some time in the future an even bigger big top will be going up to house even more people. Who said that disco was dead?!

Odds ‘N Bods

Surface Noise ‘The Scratch’ is now on WEA 12in (K 18291T) . . . Chaka Khan’s LP, despite advance ballyhoo, has been delayed until June . . . CBS is finally issuing a 3-track 12in by Lonnie Liston Smith, but are doing too little too late and surely only that out of embarrassment for their blatant neglect of a consistently popular import artist . . . King Sounds ‘Patches’ is on overdue 12in (Island 12WIP 6595) . . . Johnny Logan’s chart topper with its modish sax sounds disco to me even though the 0-105-101bpm beat is inconsistent . . . Chelmsford Saracen’s Head live jazz-funk night is now every Friday . . . Brighton Papillon, temporarily closed for soundproofing, reopens around Midsummer . . . Ilford Room At The Top admits members for free before 9:30pm on Fridays now . . . Pete Tong funks Fridays, Tom Holland Saturdays at Isle Of Sheppey Leysdown-On-Sea Island – and doesn’t Tom look good in MY sunglasses! . . . Whitehaven Whitehouse, whose proximity to the harbour prompted Ernie ‘JA’ Priestman to get fully clothed punters wet through collecting seaweed during the hot spell, has lost its late Sunday licence thanks to a teetotal new police chief, thus blowing out several slated Chris Hill visits . . . Dennis Brynner & Dave Van Sieger’s Saturday lunchtime rundown of Southampton Virgin record store’s hot newies is now relayed to the neighbouring Jean Bar shop and probably by now to Huckleberry’s burger joint too, while at Southampton Barbarellas every Fri/Sat Dave does a “dancing in the funkshine” spot with Parliafunkadelicment, James Brown, Instant Funk etc . . . Steve Dee this weekend provides the commentary at Castle Donington’s 1980 International MARCOS/National Kit Car rally; similarly Richard Witcombe & Dave Higgins (Shepton Mallet) and Red Star Disco (Wells) do a Youth Club disco for tour days at the Royal Bath & West Show, using equipment from Frome’s Derek James Disco Centre . . . London LBC Radio’s Steve Allen writes to clarify that he has no connection with Peterborough’s probably better publicized Steve Allen – but where does that leave the Original Mirrors’ Steve Allen, of Paula’s Pages fame?!? . . . Knebworth extras should by now have included PA’s by the Harlem Globetrotters, Mystic Merlin, and Side Effect’s Augie Johnston joining Hill for a ‘Keep That Same Old Feelin’’ rendition . . . Manfredo Fesi ‘Jungle Kitten’ (US Tabu LP) seems to be replacing ‘Dominoes’ in the mafia’s affections . . . ITV’s recent ‘CHiPs’ episodes about roller disco allied with good weather seem to have started a real spread of dancing on roller skates . . . Blackpool’s Pete “Macrobiotic” Haigh & Frenchie recently visited Canvey Goldmine, stayed over chez Hill, and said everything was “brill” . . . Phonogram’s Orin Cozier now says he’s a “man’s man” – hmm, and he seemed such a nice boy . . . David Bendeth has signed with Ensign . . . Gary Allan (Liverpool McMillans) is now known as Foggy following the addition of a fog machine . . . I, among many others, am no longer mentioning anything connected with a certain London DJ whose “fan” following are liable to wreck wherever he appears, as I don’t want to upset his “manager” by getting any facts wrong . . . Jason West’s favourite venue is not exactly Stevenage Bo Jangles! . . . Chris Hill refers us to ancient Egyptian pyramid carvings which clearly show people doing the Freeze, long before Alvin Cash . . . Bob Jones (Chelmsford) wants to know where to buy Japanese direct-cut/digital LPs like Lee Ritenour ‘In Rio’ (JVC), Yutaka Yokokura ‘Love Light’ (Alpha), Dave Grusin ‘Mountain Dance’ (JVC) – Hill’s got ‘em, so why not ask him? . . . Colin Day, ex-Derby Tiffanys, reports from Barbarellas in Wil, Switzerland, that Swiss clubs favour English or American jocks (many of the former avid RM readers) and that the scene is GREAT, with cheap £3.60 albums enabling him to push tracks by Fatback, Al Johnson, Switch, CHA, Jermaine Jackson despite a Wally preponderance amongst the locals, while a hot breaker is Baby’O ‘In The Forest’ . . . Brian Brindle (Chelsea Alibi) now mixes Mass Prod ‘Shante’ into Isaac Hayes ‘I Ain’t Never’, Ronnie Laws ‘OTBA Law’ into Ozone ‘Walk On’ and Ronnie Laws ‘All For You’ into ‘Young Child’ . . . Denise LaSalle ‘May The Funk Be With You’ runs gospel-111-pause-113bpm . . . Lipps Inc, hot on the heels of Liquid Gold here and huge Stateside too, surely proves that despite wishful-thinking media scaremongers, “disco” isn’t dead (unfortunately!) . . . KEEP IT FUNKY!

LENNY WHITE: ‘Peanut Butter’ (Elektra LV 37)
Bass snapped heavy 120bpm funker works well out of the ‘Stomp!’ bass and is on 3-track 12in (which Fred Dove seems to have forgotten) along with the exciting EWF-ish 128-129-131bpm ‘Citi Dancin’’ and older ‘Oh Sylvie’.

CAPTAIN & TENNILLE: ‘No Love In The Morning’ (Casablanca CANL 191)
Pleasant bouncy 108bpm MoR jogger on 3-track 12in distinguished by a Spanish-sung version of the 45/91 bpm ‘Do That To Me One More Time’.

BEN E. KING: ‘Music Trance’ LP (US Atlantic SD 19269) (‘Music Trance’ BNDA debut 3/1/80)
Commercially available at last in its full 108(intro)-106-108-107½bpm form, the great jauntily bubbling heavy funk title track chugger will soon be coupled on UK 12in by the chix-supported blandly swinging 115-116-115bpm ‘You’ve Only Got One Chance To Be Young’, which given a stronger rhythm could have had an almost Walden-like potential as the melody is certainly there.

LEON HAYWOOD: ‘If You’re Lookin’ For A Night Of Fun (Look Past Me I’m Not The One)’ (from LP ‘Naturally’, US 20th Century T-813)
Still blatantly modelled on Al Hudson’s ‘You Can Do It’, this jiggly thudding 116bpm smacker is entirely predictable though none the worse for that, while – horror of horrors – the 115bpm ‘Lover’s Rap’ is indeed a rapper.

THE TEMPTATIONS: ‘Power’ LP (US Gordy G8-994M1) (‘Power’ BNDA debut 5/17/80)
The US hit “power pum pum” growling old-style Tempts charger remains the strongest track of a dated selection and clocks in at 125bpm in this full 6:05 version, now evidently on UK 12in (12TMG 1186).

SKIP MAHONEY: ‘Janice (Don’t Be So Blind To Love)’ (US Salsoul SG 328)
Not fitting any current category other than straight vocal group soul, this nostalgic churning 135-134bpm 12in galloper with conversational break has an old Four Tops/O’Jays-like flavour and is evidently getting plugs from Greg Edwards.

SYREETA: ‘He’s Gone’ (from LP ‘Syreeta’, US Tamla T7-372R1)
Likely to be the single and using backings originally intended for Diana Ross, this nostalgic wailing 31½/63bpm revival of the Chantels’ old doo-wop slowie works well with the similar Bernadette Peters ‘Gee Whizz’.